Initial UI claims continue to fall

The US Department of Labor reports:

In the week ending Dec. 4, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 421,000, a decrease of 17,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 438,000. The 4-week moving average was 427,500, a decrease of 4,000 from the previous week's revised average of 431,500.

Further evidence that the labor market is picking up speed after the slowdown in the spring and summer. As the graph indicates, we're ahead of the pace compared to the recoveries that began in 1991 and 2001 but behind the pace set in the recovery beginning in 1982.